Until the End
by MeakoXIII
Summary: Continuation of Together. The next part of their life together. DRAMIONE.


**Until the End**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER.**

**A/N: This is the companion piece to Together, one of my other fics. If you don't read M stories, than I recommend you read this little summary of what happened. Draco and Hermione found each other after the battle in Hogwarts, and fell asleep in a room together. They helped one another through the nightmares, the aftereffects of the bloody war. They share an… intimate night, that's a good way to put it, and both know that things will never be the same again. And that's where this one starts.**

* * *

They knew it wasn't love. They didn't bother trying to lie to themselves, to fool themselves into believing it was. It was passion, understanding, trust, dependency.

And their friends were furious.

* * *

"Hermione! Where have you been?" Harry, Ginny, and Ron approached their friend, not realizing that someone stood behind her, offering support for what she was about to do.

"I've been sleeping in a classroom on the fourth floor," Hermione said, cautiously.

Only Ginny seemed to sense her hesitation while answering the question. "'Mione, what's wrong?"

The brunette smiled sadly before saying, "You aren't going to enjoy hearing what I'm going to tell you."

"'Mione, how bad could it be?" Ron asked, brushing off her warning.

"I wasn't alone, everyone."

No one looked surprised. It wasn't an uncommon thing for someone to lose his or her mind and common sense after the battle and act on only emotions. Even the brains of the Golden Trio wasn't any different.

Hermione just shook her head; they didn't understand. "I was with Malfoy."

The news took a moment to process. And then she got a mosaic of reactions.

Ginny: "I knew it would happen soon or later. Was he any good, 'Mione?"

Ron: "What? With the ferret? 'Mione, how could you?"

Harry: "Have you lost your mind? He's our enemy, 'Mione, even if he isn't the Order's."

Hermione just nodded. She understood where they were coming from. If she hadn't been there, in that room, she probably wouldn't have believed it herself. But things had changed between Draco and herself, and they couldn't go back to normal. "Harry, Ron, Draco has never been my enemy. He was always the enemy of my friends, the friend of my enemy. But never mine. Which is why I won't ask you to understand, or accept. But know that I won't go back. Nothing can go back to the way it was."

Ginny nodded, understanding. She didn't know why her friend had chosen the man she had, but it was a choice to be respected. "Are you leaving, 'Mione?"

Ron and Harry gaped at her, the idea having never occurred to them. "Leaving?" Ron repeated, confused. "You can't leave us, 'Mione. You're part of this team. You can't abandon us!"

Hermione felt tears fill her eyes and blinked them away. "I was never meant to rebuild the world, Ron, only help save it. My part's done now. It's up to the three of you now. I love all of you, but I need time to heal, time away from everything to mourn and come to terms with what I've done, what I've seen. And I won't find that here. You will help to heal one another as you heal the world too. But I need peace that I can't possibly get here."

Harry nodded along with her logic, even if he didn't like it. Ron was stubbornly against the idea of her leaving, but his friend and sister dragged him away. Ginny came back to give her a fierce hug, making her promise to owl the three of them. "Don't you dare fall off the face of the earth, 'Mione. You're like my sister and I need to talk to you, even if it can't be face-to-face. I'll send you an owl in a month. And I expect you to answer. If you don't I'll… I'll send Ron after you. No matter where you are."

The brunette felt more tears fill her eyes and she embraced her friend for the last time before turning away, taking Draco's hand and leaving the school for the last time.

* * *

_Dear Hermione,_

_It's been a month. You can't know how hard it's been to keep the boys in check. Ron comes up with more elaborate and foolish plans everyday; even the work he has to do doesn't keep him busy all the time. Harry has come to terms with your choice; he doesn't understand, but he accepts._

_I still can't wait to see you again, or to read your reply to this letter. I'm giving you a week to have it back with the owl before I let Ron loose._

_I'm not going to talk about what's been happening here; if you want to know you can read the Prophet. But please tell me what you've been doing. I'm super curious as to where you are and what you've been up to. It's amazing how many rumors can start and spread over a month. Half the Wizarding World is sure you're dead, while the other half have decided you're a vampire and can't come out during the day. I think Luna knows what's happened, cause she gets this knowing look on her face when anyone mentions your name._

_Anyway, Harry and I finally got back together, publicly, anyway. Mum's excited, so is Dad. We don't have any plans; anything that's going to happen will wait until things have settled down to almost normal levels again._

_Listen to me, rambling like some kind of moron. Don't laugh at me, 'Mione. I know you want to._

_I miss you so much. It's so hard being surrounded by boys all day. I don't know how you put up with it for seven years. But I'll shut up so you can write back._

_Remember, you have one week._

_Miss you dearly,_

_Ginny_

Hermione smiled sadly as she read the letter. It was the kind of thing she expected her friend to write. But how could she explain what had happened to her? That she and Draco had reached an unspoken agreement? That they had become an unofficial couple? With a child on the way?

She refused to tell Ginny that- with her luck the redhead would tell Ron and then there'd be no stopping him. And there was no way that he would believe that the blonde man was as excited about the child as she was. It was what they both needed to really heal. Something to look forward to, something to draw their attention from within themselves and the past and turn it to the future.

She folded up the letter and put it aside for the moment. The words would come to her eventually. She stood up and walked over to where Draco was staring into the thunderstorm. She wrapped her arms around him, rested her head on his back. "What are you thinking about, love?"

He covered her hands with his own and stayed silent for a moment. "My father," he finally admitted. "And what would happen if he ever found us."

She thought about that for a moment. "We won't let anything happen, Draco."

He took in her confidence in them, in their protections for one another, for their future, and relaxed a bit. "What did Ginny have to say?"

She allowed the change of subject. "The usual. Girl chat, complaining about her brother, threatening me with a horrible threat if I don't reply back… normal Ginny stuff."

"A horrible threat? That I have to hear." He seemed amused at the thought of the redhead threatening Hermione with anything.

"She threatened to sic Ron on me. And that wouldn't have been fun. At all."

"Oh, come on! You can totally take him! Besides, you'd have Draco junior in there helping you out the whole way."

She smiled as he turned around and put his hands on her enlarged stomach. "I told you, she's not a boy. And even if she was, there's no way I'm letting you name our child Draco junior. I'd kill you first, and I'd get away with it too."

"Oh, is that right?" he asked, accepting the challenge. "And why's that?"

She grinned at him, "Because I'm a good actress. And anyway, what kind of an expecting mother kills the father of her child? Certainly not me," she teased before turning back into the house and walking towards the kitchen. "What time is it anyway? I'm starving."

He watched her leave for a moment before following. "You're always hungry, love."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Don't look at me! It's not like I did it all by myself. I seem to remember you enjoying it a lot, thank you very much."

She turned around and saw his playfully offended look and smiled. "I know," she whispered before kissing him. "And I still do."

* * *

_Dear Gin,_

_This should reach you well before the week limit. We're not as far away from you as you think. Please don't ask where we are, cause I'll tell you eventually. But not now. If I know you, and I do, you'd just happen to appear one day, and I don't think we're quite ready for anyone to barge into the life we've made for ourselves._

_As for what we've been doing… not a lot. It's really peaceful here, with no evil wizards chasing us, or nearly-as-evil reporters. Maybe you and Harry should just fall off the face of the earth for a week or two when you need the rest. I think you both would enjoy it here._

_Tell everyone that I'm not a vampire, or werewolf, or any other weird thing they can think up. I'm still just me, plain old Hermione Jane Granger. Yes, still Granger. For now._

_I'd tell you that you'll be an honorary aunt in about eight months, but then I know you'd come through this letter and strangle me for not telling you sooner, and then you'd absolutely freak out (in a good way, of course) and go crazy buying things. So I really hope when you read this part of my letter you promise not to tell anyone. I will tell you where we are before the baby comes, cause I need you here when it does. I'm not going anywhere else. Just promise to brush up on your midwifery, and learn some if you have no clue what to do. I can't do it all by myself. And Draco won't be any help._

_He is super excited about the baby, too, before you ask. More than I had expected him to be._

_Please don't tell Ron or Harry yet. I know you want to, but let him or her be your secret little niece or nephew for a bit, ok? I promise I'll tell Harry and Ron eventually, but I think it's something that needs to be done face to face. I owe them that much._

_I have a favor to ask you, a serious one this time. I need information of Lucius Malfoy, where he is, what he's been doing, things like that. I've been … worried lately that something might happen involving him and my little family up here. I want to ensure that that never happens. Especially before my baby comes into the world._

_I'm sorry that this letter sounds so serious. I really didn't mean for it to sound that way, but I guess you're the only one I can really vent to. If I told Draco everything I was afraid of, he'd lock us up in a bomb shelter or something. He's been nervous since we found out. I guess that's just typical guy behavior, eh?_

_Give the boys my love._

_Always on time,_

_Hermione_

* * *

Ginny visited their hideaway many times in the eight months before Draco and Hermione's daughter, who they named Alana, came into the world. Two months after that, Ron and Harry were invited over. Harry, who had been told about everything by Ginny, with Hermione's permission, just beamed proudly when he saw Alana. Ron took everything a little harder, glaring at Draco the entire time. But he finally accepted her choice.

Draco and Hermione never fully rejoined the wizarding world. They had two other children, twins, a boy and a girl named Luke and Laine. They were kept up to date with everything that went on through their friends, and when Alana was accepted to Hogwarts, like they knew would happen, they moved into Malfoy Manor and watched their children grow up. Luke and Laine were accepted soon after, and for the first time in remembered history a Malfoy went to Gryffindor. Two, to be exact. And the mischief they made rivaled Fred and George's legacy.

Hermione and Draco eventually got married, a small affair, more for Ginny than anyone else. They grew old together, happily. The way it was supposed to be. Ginny teased the couple often, saying that what they had was something that should've been written down in a book. But they disagreed. For what they had was more than just a fairytale love. Fairytale love is love at first sight, love that transcends time and every sort of social taboo. That wasn't what they had. Anyone who knew them during school could attest to that. They had a love born out of trust, passion, need. And after the passion died away, which it eventually did, many, many years later, they still had love. But they didn't fool themselves into thinking that their love could survive the scrutiny of their society. So they didn't force it to. They lived happy, full lives, to the end. Exactly how it should be.

* * *

**Well, I don't quite know what happened at the end there. I guess I just went on a roll, you know? I'm just in one of those moods. I apologize if it sounds like I just rambled on and on. And as I reread it, it doesn't sound as good as it did when I was typing it. But hey, what can you do?**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. And if you haven't read the first part of this little story, check out Together, that is, if you're over the age of 18. Or don't mind graphic lemons. But to get the full effect, I'd still recommend you read the first half or so.**

**Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts, if you want to drop a comment or something.**

**Meako**


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